Drawing:
Yasuko
IshitomiIemon
was not happy after he carried out the
plan because he was tormented by Iwa's
ghost.

Yotsuya-Kaidan
Ghost Story

Yasuko
Ishitomi from Japan

"Mom.
How can I protect myself from ghosts when I meet
them?" my four-year-old daughter asked me.

These
days she is interested in ghosts because she
enjoyed watching horror films on TV during the
Halloween season. Even though she is scared of
them, she still watched from under a blanket. I
could see only her eyes from the blanket.

There
are many ghosts and ghost stories in the world, and
each ghost story has the background of each
culture. We can enjoy ghosts and ghost stories, and
also enjoy cultural difference through them. Of
course, Japan has many ghosts and ghost stories,
and you can find our peculiar culture and odd
imagination in them.

One
of our famous ghost stories is the
Yotsuya-Kaidan ghost story (the formal title
is Tohkaidoh Yotsuya Kaidan), which was
written in the Edo period, which lasted from 1603
to 1867. Japan had a closed-door policy, where
craftsmen and merchants developed a unique and
sophisticated culture. Townspeople of that period
enjoyed their culture and amusement, including
ghosts and ghost stories. I think they were curious
about ghosts. They enjoyed Yotsuya-Kaidan
very much, and this is the story.

About
three hundred years ago (in the Edo period), a
master-less samurai Iemon and his wife Iwa lived
in Yotsuya in ancient Tokyo. Even though Iemon
didn't have a job, Iwa was happy because she was
carrying a baby. However, Iemon was depressed
due to unemployment.

One
day Iemon met a man who told him that he would
look for job (a master) for Iemon, on the
condition that Iemon would marry his
granddaughter after he got a job. Iemon accepted
the man's offer and decided to kill Iwa together
with the man. Iemon killed his wife, Iwa. Iemon
was not happy after he carried out the plan
because he was tormented by Iwa's ghost. It
appeared everywhere around him. And he would
be ..

Every
summer, several theater and movie versions of
Yotsuya-Kaidan story are shown in Japan. The actors
and crew visit Iwa's grave before they play the
story because many Japanese believe that strange,
terrifying things will happen if the actors and
crew don't do that.

We
call them evil consequences. I've heard about some
of them; for example, an actress from Iwa was
killed in a car accident; the stage ceiling lights
suddenly fell on the stage and injured actors; one
of the crew committed suicide etc, but I
don't know if these were true or not. I think
visiting her grave is a kind of a ritual, so they
do this, even if they don't believe in the evil
consequences.

While
I saw my daughter's eyes looking out from the
blanket, I remembered my elementary school days,
when I read many ghost stories and watched ghost
movies a lot. I think she is curious about ghosts
just like me.

It
is good for the right hemisphere of her brain to
imagine, but I should say to her, "Please don't
forget to use the left-side of your brain to stop
too much imagination about ghosts. It is one of the
best ways to protect you from ghosts." Maybe this
doesn't work for her right now though.